Vacant Chapter 4 Questions

We sit in silence for quite some time, and I can tell she's nervous about telling me what's going on. I don't want to force her. When she's ready, she'll let me know. As I wait, I realize it's the first quiet night I've had since she moved in. I really don't want to make assumptions because things aren't always what they appear. However, as I sit playing protector to this girl, scenarios run rampant through my mind. She has very few clothes. Irregular bathing does not bother her. She is careful, but trusting – not at all shy. She's young and alone; she has no furniture and no utilities. All evidence points to her being parentless and homeless. I can relate. Don't get involved. Keep things simple. Take care of yourself! _ Don't get involved. Keep things simple. Take care of yourself! _ Don't get involved. Keep things simple. Take care of yourself! _ No matter how many times I recite the mantra in my head, it's useless. This life isn't suited to girls who are alone, no matter how equipped they are to deal with the shit life flings at them. Women are taken advantage of in the blink of an eye when the opportunity is given. I make a mental note to be sure Emily doesn't suffer the same fate, particularly by my hand. I'm sitting on Emily's mattress, my head against our shared wall. She's leaning into my side, quiet, in what I hope is peaceful sleep. After thinking this situation over for a while I shake my head, realizing I've already talked myself into this, into helping Emily; I find it nearly impossible not to now. Eventually, I drift off with determination and the realization I've opened a big-assed can of worms†¦ for both of us. Hours later, my inner alarm clock wakes me. There is a little drool on my shoulder and it's kind of gross. I lay Homeless Girl down on her bare mattress and make note to bring over an extra set of sheets. Who knows where she even got the mattress? I'm sure it's infested with who-knows-what. I may be poor, but I like clean. There are some things that shouldn't be bought in used condition. Shoes, underwear, and mattresses quickly spring to mind. During my run, I think about the upheaval I'm getting myself into, and the reality of the situation is weighing heavily upon me. As a kid, I was lucky enough to be moved to a safe place where all my basic needs were met. I never had to fend for myself in the physical sense; emotionally, though? That was another story. I run an extra two miles trying to process everything. I decide this is my chance to pay it forward. I ignore my mantra as it only serves to confuse me further at this point. The fact remains I've already gotten involved, and I try to rationalize how much trouble one small girl can really be. Part of me feels like it's none of my business what her personal situations is, but if I'm going to help her, then I want some basic information. She doesn't have to tell me her life story, but I need to know her circumstances. After I get home from work and knock on the bedroom wall, I chuckle to myself thinking it may as well be a shower curtain for all the privacy the thin, flimsy wall provides. I yell, telling homeless neighbor girl I've ordered pizza and she should come join me for dinner. â€Å"You're the best! I can't believe you got us pizza!† She won't stop gushing about how nice I am or how â€Å"awesome† the pizza is. When she came over, she looked a bit skeptical, like she wondered what I wanted from her in return, but I didn't even want to think about what that might mean. Food, clothes, shelter. That's all†¦ As we eat, I try to think of the best way to bring up her state of affairs. I find that being direct is the best solution. I watch as she inhales her third slice of pizza, I rationalize I need to start referring to Emily by name. Calling her Homeless Girl and Neighbor Girl isn't helpful for either of us. I need to see her as a meaningful person, not a ‘problem from next door'. Emily needs to hear her name, if for nothing else, so she knows she exists. â€Å"So, I have a couple questions. I've been thinking about this since last night,† I pause making sure she is receptive to my inquiry. She nods indicating her permission. â€Å"Question number one: Where are your parents?† She eyes me quickly, and then takes a bite of pizza, chewing slowly. She's stalling. â€Å"I don't know my dad, and my mom passed away recently,† she says quietly. I take her answer at face value because I know how difficult the loss of a parent is. â€Å"Where were you living before?† This time she's a little quicker to answer. â€Å"We lived in shelters for a while. Then my mom got sick.† She takes another bite of her dinner then continues. â€Å"I know how things work. Since I'm almost eighteen, there isn't too much the state will do for me. I would live in a home for a few months then get tossed out on the street. I figured I might as well get a jump on living, you know?† I wonder how she's able to be so light-hearted about this. Emily's smiling which she tends to do on a regular basis. This girl – almost woman – has had some terrible circumstances, yet almost every time I see her, her smile brightens the room. I find her positive outlook on life is rubbing off on me. â€Å"My next question was your age, but you've already answered that. When do you turn eighteen?† â€Å"In a month,† she replies. I take several minutes to think about the information she's just told me while finishing my own slice of pizza. Living in a shelter would explain her lack of inhibition. There is no such thing as privacy when you live with fifty other people. She's used to being watched. â€Å"Hey, I went to the grocery store you work at today and filled out an application. I looked for you, but you must have been on break or something.† I just nod; I don't need this complication spilling over to my work. As soon as I think it, though, I regret the thought. I can't think of Emily as a complication. â€Å"They said they weren't hiring right now, but will let me know if something comes up. On my way home I stopped at the convenience store on Jamison. I found out they are hiring, so if the grocery doesn't work out, I could do that instead,† she finishes, and then takes a fourth slice of pizza. I know my face pales, and she doesn't have a clue why. I have no idea how to tell this girl I don't even really know, occasionally uses my shower, and who I just referred to as a complication, that I don't want her to work in a convenience store because Dad was shot in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven.

Metamorphosis and Existentialism Essay

Existentialism is defined as a modern philosophical movement stressing the importance of one’s experience and accountability. Its focus is the make on the personal reflections that these make on the individual, who is seen as a free agent in a deterministic and seemingly meaningless universe. Its philosophy is meticulous that, in a nutshell, advocates a diverse arsenal of responses and solutions to the ‘existentialist attitude’; which, essentially, is what an individual feels when confronted by the absurdity of life. Throughout humanity, rumination and self-proclaimed ‘ultimate’ truths have assumed various forms: poetry, religion, and numerous other doctrines and textual works. In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka narrates the ramifications of a metamorphosis in which the subject and protagonist, a man named Gregor Samsa, is transformed into a bug. Despite the novella’s literary methods and influences, the most prominent being the way Kafka so nonchalantly describes such irregularity in his life, The Metamorphosis is also hailed as a prime textual work of existentialism, the previously mentioned philosophical movement. Both prior and subsequent to the transformation, Kafka portrays Gregor as a man who seems lost within himself, and lacking identity. The reminiscences of his past are neither nostalgic nor poignant: his human life is seen to revolve solely around trivial matters. His social life pays the price from this, his failure to assert a concrete and consistent existence. The extent of his lack of individuality is further exemplified by his reaction to the metamorphosis: finding himself â€Å"transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect† (Kafka, 296), he prioritizes work over all else, even in his newly equated insect form. Furthermore, he panics because â€Å"the next train went at seven o’clock; to catch that he would need to hurry like mad and his samples weren’t even packed up† (297). Gregor’s identity crisis is a device for conveying Kafka’s belief of an impersonal society where individualism is drastically mitigated as a result of excessive materialism. Gregor, in the context of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground analogy, would be the ‘ant’ in the anthill— thus rendering his metamorphosis ironically. Another dominant theme prevalent throughout the novella is the absurd situation Gregor is confronted by. These nonsensical happenings (296-327) reflect the world as seen from the existentialist perspective: a world absent of a rational and comprehensive objective. Jean-Paul Sartre postulated that ‘every existing thing is born without reason, prolongs itself out of weakness, and dies by chance’. This meaninglessness is precisely what Gregor is victim to in the microcosm of society that Kafka generates: Gregor flounders about, beleaguered by absurdity and helplessness, presumably because he is unaware of Nietzsche and Kierkegaard’s somewhat consoling conclusions that one must devise meaning for one’s own existence ex nihilo. Once again, Kafka utilizes a combination of plot and character to convey his angst concerning an apparently pointless existence. Freedom— or rather the lack thereof— is another existentialist tenet that Kafka addresses. Gregor is depicted as someone constrained by self-imposed burdens, the most demanding being the role as the financial pillar of the family. Despite having the freedom to repudiate this role, Gregor instead pursues it with feverish ardor to the extent that it becomes his ‘sole desire’ (310). Yet his harangue regarding his career (297-298) reveals that this is not due to personal desire, but rather the belief that he must replace his father financially, regardless of preference. Gregor’s delusion regarding an absence of choice contradicts what Kafka perceives as the truth: that freedom is ubiquitous in spite of any ethical obligations we may be expected to adhere to, and that the individual defines his or herself via one’s decisions. A quasi-motto of existentialism coined by Sartre, ‘existence precedes essence’. In conclusion, Kafka employs the fictional literary elements he constructs to address the very non-fictional, existentialist aspects of society and life. Akin to Dostoyevsky’s Notes from Underground, it can be interpreted as both a rumination and tirade against impersonal communities, restriction of freedom, and the absurdity of life.

Kap Report Endline September 2012

KNOWLEDGE ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES (KAP) END-LINE ASSESSMENT On Water, Sanitation and Hygiene LOLKUACH Village, IDPs of Akobo September-2012 DRC-Gambella WASH Team Conducted in the frame of an ECHO funded project â€Å"Improving access to short-term food security, safe drinking water, hygiene and basic household items in Ethiopia† Wanthowa Worda, Gambella, Ethiopia September 30, 2012 i TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 2 3 3. 1 INTRODUCTION SUMMARY OF FINDINGS METHODOLOGY Objectives of the Survey 1 2 3 3 4 4. 1 FINDINGS General Background Information 4 4 5 5. 1 5. 2 5. 3 WATER RELATED INFORMATIONWater Sources Water collection and storage Household Water Treatment 5 5 9 11 6 6. 1 6. 2 HEALTH AND HYGIENE Diseases Washing Hands and Good Hygienic Practices 12 12 15 7 7. 1 7. 2 SANITATION Defecation Waste and Waste Management 18 18 20 8 9 CONCLUSION RECOMMENDATIONS 23 24 25 10 REFERENCES i 1 Introduction The 2012 report states that as of end of 2010: Over 780 million people are still without acce ss to improved sources of drinking water and 2. 5 billion lack improved sanitation. If current trends continue, these numbers will remain unacceptably high in 2015: 605 million people will be without an improved drinking water source and 2. billion people will lack access to improved sanitation facilities. An estimated 801,000 children younger than 5 years of age perish from diarrhea each year, mostly in developing countries. This amounts to 11% of the 7. 6 million deaths of children under the age of five and means that about 2,200 children are dying every day as a result of diarrheal diseases. Unsafe drinking water, inadequate availability of water for hygiene, and lack of access to sanitation together contribute to about 88% of deaths from diarrheal diseases (UNICEF, WHO, 2012: 2; Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 2012).As to Andrea Naylor: although worldwide there have been thousands of projects to address water and sanitation issues as they relate to public health with c ontinued improvements since the 1980’s, research has shown that due to lack of evaluation surveys on the effectiveness and success of these interventions, many are not sustainable . To this end, the essence of conducting end-line survey is very critical to gauge the effectiveness and success of the interventions of DRC-Gambella. The Gambella Region has an approximately population of 332,600 people, with 49,457 living in Akobo and Wantawo Woredas.These populations are subjected to water shortage and floods. Moreover the population is prevalently pastoralist and follows seasonal migration patterns for cattle grazing and protection of livestock from drought and floods. The perennial attacks by the Murle tribe, coupled with intra-clan conflicts among the Nuer tribes of Ethiopia and South Sudan, aggravates a situation of chronic displacement, making populations of bordering areas, especially Akobo, susceptible of massive and prolonged internal displacements.Conflicts, drought and floods are the key challenges to the populations in Akobo and in Wantawo. The consequent perennial movement makes the community vulnerable to food insecurity, disease and water shortage. It is in view of this that Danish Refugee Council seeks to address in the short term the basic needs of these populations by providing access to clean drinking water, and tools to improve hygiene and to build the capacity of the community to respond to these challenges. From the period of July 2011 to June 2012, DRC implemented a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project, funded by ECHO, with the goal of rehabilitating 7 hand pumps (and subsequently chlorinating the water), distributing NFI kits, hygiene kits, and implementing hygiene promotions. DRC decided to conduct two in-depth KAP surveys (as a baseline and endline) to evaluate the impact brought by the implementation of the project in the targeted area.The baseline survey was conducted in the month of May 2012 and the end line survey was conducted in the second week of September 2012. In the period between the two surveys, a number of activities covering water, sanitation and hygiene were implemented in the frame of the project. 2 Summary of Findings Project outputs and behaviour and knowledge change (as indicated by the pre and post implementation KAP surveys) indicate the following key findings: o o o o o o Seven hand pumps were rehabilitated/ disinfected Hygiene promotion targets were surpassed. planned: 5,490 beneficiaries; 10,950 reached) Hygiene kit distributions were surpassed (planned: 2,250 beneficiaries; 8,870 reached) NFI kit distributions were surpassed (planned 6,300 beneficiaries; 7,470 reached) The number of respondents who use hand pumps as source of water increased from 4% to 75% Knowledge and practice of feasible water purification practices such as boiling, filtration or adding tablet/sachet has been greatly improved Instance of diarrhoea has decreased from 60% to 24% of respondents stating that they had h ad diarrhea in during the 3 weeks prior to the survey Knowledge that rain water is a safe drinking water source has improved from 24% to 62% of respondents, however, the use of rain water remains limited.Knowledge of the causes of unsafe drinking water (including germs, visible particles and bad taste) increased from 40% to 81%. The practice of open defecation has reduced from 100% to 15% of respondents. Hand washing at critical times has increased from 34% to 85% of respondents. 2 o o o o o o o Appropriate waste disposal mechanisms improved from 39. 2% in baseline to 75% of respondents.. Although there has been an improvement in the knowledge of respiratory and eye infection transmission/protection, there is still room for improvement 3 Methodology A cross sectional, qualitative study was conducted through house to house interviews, taking 150 respondents randomly as study subjects. The sample represents nearly 10% of the total targeted household 1 n Lolkuach village (1,500 househo ld). The questionnaire (See Annex I) was employed to collect data on general background information, knowledge, attitude and practices of the IDPs of Lolkuach village. However the results can also be considered pertinent for the host communities if considering the cultural and environmental homogeneity. Verbal consent from the respondents was obtained after explaining the purpose of the study. Data was collected from 13 to 14 September 2012. The data from the questionnaires was entered into SPSS software (version 13) by the principal investigators for further analysis. Data reliability was assured using different techniques such as: ?Properly designed questionnaires were prepared and pretested. ? Data collectors were hired locally and tested during the training on the contents of the questionnaire. Constant supervision was done by DRC WASH Team Leader, and problems encountered at the time of data collection were reported immediately and appropriate actions taken. 3. 1 Objectives of the Survey ? To identify gaps in knowledge regarding health and hygiene practices and existing practices leading to negative impact on health. ? ? To describe the socio demographic, cultural information of respondents and villages. To find out the information on incidence of communicable disease due to unhygienic practice. 1It is estimated, on the base of IOM Akobo IDPs database, that the number of households currently living in Lolkuach is 1500 and average family size is 5. 3 ? To assess the effectiveness and impact of the DRC water, sanitation and hygiene promotion activities. 4 Findings 4. 1 General Background Information The beneficiaries of the programme, and KAP survey respondents are all part of the displaced NuerGajok population from Akobo Woreda now living in Wantawo. Among the KAP survey respondents, the majority (about 65 %) were female, whereas 35% were male. Females were particularly targeted for the KAP survey, as they were the primary recipients/participants in the DR C project, and are traditionally responsible for child care and household WASH issues.This survey was conducted near the end of the rainy season, in Lolkuach IDP settlement. Respondents reported moving between the river banks temporary camps and dry land permanent villages according to seasonal variations. During the dry season, the majority of the respondents live in Dimbierow village (79%), and Nyawich village (17%), while only 4 % of the respondents indicated that they live in Lolkuach village throughout all the year. However there are frequent movements among the settlements throughout all the year. Most of the respondents (86. 2%) indicated that they arrived at Lolkuach between February and June 2009 following a recurrence of conflict with Lou Nuer in Akobo woreda.Minority of the respondents arrived during the same period of 2008 (12. 8%) or 2010 (1 %). Most of the respondents therefore have been displaced since 2009. When respondents were asked if they plan to return to their villages of origin, a pronounced number (55%) indicated that they don’t have any plans to return due to security problems (expressed as ‘war’, ‘conflict’, ‘insecurity’). The remaining 45% of the respondents indicated that they plan to return back in the future if the security situation is restored and the construction of the road from Mathar to Akobo is finalized. In this regard, as it can be observed from the baseline survey, no significant difference noted in the end line survey.However looking in detail at the positive answers (from the 45% of respondents), 21% expressed a plan to go back within six months and the remaining 34% indicated a time longer than six months. Moreover even the respondents who indicated that they have a plan to return back to 4 Kebele of origin also mentioned their fear about the security situation (expressed as ‘if peace come back’, ‘if cattle raiding ends’, if the construction of th e road to Akobo is completed and similar). 5 Water Related Information 5. 1 Water Sources Before the project interventions, the baseline data indicated that almost 100% of the respondents were accessing unsafe drinking water from the river, which is contaminated from the presence of livestock and open defecation. At the end of the project implementation, the hand pump aintenance/rehabilitation/water chlorination, coupled with pure sachet distributions, bucket distributions, and hygiene promotions resulted in a significant positive change. As you can observe from the Figure 1, the majority of the respondents are now using water from newly maintained/rehabilitated hand pumps. Due to seasonal movement however, the proportion of respondents using hand pumps during the dry season reduces, as many of the beneficiaries move to areas without hand pumps. The following graph outlines both the shift in hand pump use (pre and post intervention), and also the relation of this use in terms of sea sons. There are still not sufficient hand pumps in Lolkuach area to support the population however, which explains why 100% of the respondents are not using these protected sources.Considering that the 7500 inhabitants of Lolkuach, Thore and Lolmokoney have only 7 hand-pumps (hand dug wells), this is insufficient as per SPHERE standards)2 , highlighting the need to construct new hand pumps. 2 Considering the maximum number of users for 1 hand pump should be 500, at least 15 hand pumps would be needed in Lolkuach 5 Seasonal Use of Protected Water Sources – Pre and Post Intervention 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Dry Season Rainy Season % of Respondents Seasons Baseline Endline Figure 1: Shift in Use of Protected Water Sources (KAP baseline an d end-line) Seven hand pumps in Lolkuach and surrounding villages were disinfected and beneficiaries received pure sachet as well bucket and filter.From the findings, the graph below states that it is only 27% of the respondents indicat ed that the main problems with their water source are water is dirty and it tastes bad. Whereas 40. 7% of the respondents also signified that the water source is far. Problems Related to Water Supply 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Dirty Water Bad Taste Irregular FlowSource is Dried Distance to No problems Up Source % Respondents Baseline Endline Water Source Issues Figure 2: Main problems related to water supply. 6 Consequently 63% of the respondents consider the water they are using is safe for drinking, and 33% consider it is unsafe instead (Figure 3).This represents a reduction in the proportion of respondents who stated that they were using unsafe water from 77% in the baseline to 33% in the end-line survey. Of these 33% of respondents who noted that they were drinking unsafe water, 8% of the respondents were using hand dug wells (Which were rehabilitated by DRC) as source of water for drinking. Figure 3: consideration of water safety Figure 4: reasons why 33% declared water i s unsafe In relation to the safety of water, the reason why 33% of respondents declared that they are using unsafe water is mainly because the water contains germs, is not filtered and not cleaned. This shows that their understanding about the causes of unsafe water has improved since the baseline (Figure 4).When it comes to use of rainwater as source, though improvement is registered, much needs to be done to bring about significant change. Considering the shortage of safe water sources in the area observed by DRC, and the abundant rain-fall in Gambella region3, reasons for not using the rainwater (which is almost distilled4) were assessed more closely. Although the number of respondents who believe that 3 The annual rain falls in Gambella region ranges between 800 and 1200mm, but about 85% of rains are concentrated between May-October (Woube, 1999). 4 In this regards, Dev Sehgal, indicated that rainwater harvesting is an easy method to collect drinking water, and the quality of th e water is almost distilled.First when the water touches the catchment surface it usually gets contaminated (Dev Sehgal, 2005). 7 rainwater is unsafe has reduced from 76% to 38% of respondents, more can be done to raise awareness on this water collection method. Of the 38% of respondents who would not collect rain water given the choice, the principal reasons were given as follows: Figure 5: Investigation about unused rain water When questioned on their knowledge of safe drinking water and water pollution causes, respondents were given the option of providing more than one answer. The number of respondents who indicated that drinking water shouldn’t have germs, visible particles and/or bad taste, increased from 40% at the baseline to 81. 3% at the end-line.The respondents who indicated that the proximity of a latrine to water sources can cause water contamination increased from 7. 2% in the baseline to 15% in the end-line survey. In this regards, water quality and health coun cil indicated that especially the proximity of latrine to water sources can cause Removing the first harvested water, so-called first flush, can prevent this. When the rain starts to fall the first water cleans the catchment surface and fills up the first flush diverter, by the time it is full a ball closes the opening and leads the water to the main tank. The downside of rainwater harvesting is that it requires double storage, as it is hard to purify water at the same speed as it rains (Gould, J. & Nissen-Petersen, E. , 2005). 8 contamination .The majority of the respondents (85%) also indicated that garbage disposal or animals feces containers near a water source, or unprotected source can cause water contamination (Figure7). 5 Knowledge of Causes of Water Source Pollution 100 90 80 % Respondents 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Defecation Nearby Garbage Nearby Dirty Container Causes of Pollution Figure 7: Knowledge of Water Source Pollutants Baseline Endline Although only a small proportio n of respondents acknowledge that water can be contaminated through the ground from a latrine constructed too close to a water source, 95% of respondents are now aware that defecation near a water source is a pollutant, resulting in a change of behavior in which open defecation has reduced from 100% in the baseline to 15% in the end-line survey. 5. 2 Water collection and storageFrom the Figure 8, it can be observed that nearly 50% of respondents less than 50 minutes to fetch water during dry seasons6, meaning that SPHERE standards for these respondents are met for watersource distance because of the rehabilitations of the hand pump in the vicinity of the village. Concerning rainy season, it can be observed that respondents spend more time getting water. As it is observed, respondents need to travel some distance to fetch water and during the dry season respondents also move to river banks. Hence, this can make the access to hand pump difficult. So besides constructing 5 The causes o f water pollution vary and may be both natural and anthropogenic.However, the most common causes of domestic water pollutions includes : garbage disposal and defecation near water sources, animals feces, sharing the same sources with animals, use of dirty or open water container can affect the safety of our water . Use (Water Quality and Health Councils, 2010; CAWST, 2009; Laurent, P. , 2005). 6 According to SPHERE key indicators, the maximum distance from any household to the nearest water point is 500 metres 9 new hand pumps, encouraging the community for rain water catchment strategy is very essential at household at household level. 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 0-50 50-100 Min 100-250 Min More than 250 Dry Season Rainy SeasonFigure 8: Average time spent to collect water Given that water collection requires women and girls to walk distances to find water sources, there may be heightened protection issues for these family members, although protection was not assessed in the KAP. Questio n posed to respondents on what devices that they are using to store and collect water indicated that 55% of the respondents are using plastic jerry cans to collect water and 34% of the respondents use plastic bucket for water collection. For storing water, nearly 33% of the respondents use traditional clay pot and plastic jerry cans; the rest 36% of the respondents indicated plastic jerry cans or buckets with lid.DRC distributed NFI (Contains 2 Jerry cans each 20 litters among others) and Hygiene kits (Contains 2 Buckets each 10 litters among other) to 302 and 283 households respectively living in Lolkuach areas. To this end, most of the respondents own more than one container. But still those who didn’t receive water storage and collection device also were among the respondents who took part in the survey, we can 10 observe that 70% of respondents meet the minimum SPHERE7 requirement for water collection container, and 74% meet the requirement8 for water storage. Whereas in the baseline, it was noted that only 50% of the respondents met the requirement for water storage and collection devices. 5. 3 Household Water TreatmentThe knowledge of practical purification methods like boiling, filtration or adding tablet/sachet was assessed. As it can be observed from Figure 12, there is great leap in knowledge of the basic methods of household water treatment. For instance, use of purifying sachet/tablet increased from 8% at baseline to 85% at the end-line survey. The findings also suggested that the majority of the respondents (more than 75%) know the use of feasible practices like boiling, filtration or adding tablets/sachet for water treatments9. This figure was only 25% in the baseline survey. After the baseline survey, it is worth to note that DRC-Gambella has been distributing purifying sachet and providing demonstrations for those villages with no access to hand pumps. 7According to SPHERE key indicator: Each household has at least two clean water collec ting containers of 10-20 litres, plus enough clean water storage containers to ensure there is always water in the household. The amount of storage capacity required depends on the size of the household and the consistency of water availability e. g. approximately 4 litres per person would be appropriate for situations where there is a constant daily supply 8 Requirement for storage is calculated according to certain specificities, but considering the minimum of 4lt/person/day, for an average household of 5, should be at least 20 lt. 9 Different researchers suggested some feasible practices like boiling, filtration or adding Figuret/sachet and chlorination for water treatment (CAWST, 2009; Davis & Lambert, 2002). 11Knowledge of Household Water Treatment 140 120 % Respondents 100 80 60 40 20 0 special container Boiling Use of sachet Cleaning Filtering container with cloth Covering sunlight Baseline Endline Figure 12: Knowledge of household water treatment methods 6 Health and Hygiene 6. 1 Diseases Respondents were asked about the diseases their family experienced during the three weeks before the interview. The number of respondents who caught diarrhea in the three weeks prior to the interview reduced from 60% in the baseline to 27. 3% in the end-line survey. Hence, you can see from the end-line survey that hygiene conditions and practices are improving.When it comes to the causes of diarrhoea, more than 85% of the respondents referenced unsafe drinking water, children feces, germs/bacteria, open defecation, poor hygienic practices and flies as causes of diarrhea (Figure 16), indicating that the hygiene promotion has resulted in an increase in knowledge. 12 Figure 16: Knowledge about diarrhea transmission Interviewees were asked to indicate in a multiple choice question, which action to be taken to protect their families from the different diseases that they suffered from. The respondents who indicated that they can be protected from malaria by sleeping under m osquito net increased from 40% to 75%. Keeping the environment clean and good hygienic practices also attributed as a method of prevention of malaria by many respondents (Figure 14). 13 Knowldge of Malaria prevetion measure 120 100 Respondents 80 60 40 20 0 Keeping environment Clean Safe water Good hygienic practice Use mosquitonet Wash cloth Wash hand Baseline Endline Figure 14: knowledge of malaria prevention measures When it comes to skin diseases, most of the respondents indicated that good hygienic practice as way of prevention of skin diseases (Figure 15). 14 Figure 15: Knowledge of skin diseases prevention measur es Nearly 51. 2% of the respondents indicated that good personal hygiene, keeping the environment clean, use of safe water for drinking, washing hands, washing clothes and hanging them in the sun can protect their families from respiratory and eye problems.The above results indicate that the knowledge of the people has improved with regards to respiratory illness and eye infection transmission and protection, however there is still room for improvement. 6. 2 Washing Hands and Good Hygienic Practices General question about hygiene and more specific ones about hand washing were posed. Keeping food away from flies, bathing regularly, keeping compounds clean, protecting food and washing hands are considered as good hygienic practices by the majority of the respondents in the end-line survey. This means that the figure increased from nearly 51% at the baseline to nearly 85% in the endline. 15 Figure 18: Knowledge about keeping good hygieneLikewise, when respondents specifically asked if they wash their hands, 89% of the interviewees gave affirmative answer in the end-line Survey. People who wash hands reported to be doing it in order to eliminate bad smell and prevent diseases. Similarly more details of the hand washing practice can be seen from Figure 20, and it can be concluded that more than three fourth of the population who wash their hands, ar e doing it at the appropriate times. 16 Figure 20: Frequency of hand washing practice While the vast majority of the respondents (95%) stated they would like to bathe once a day, when it comes to practice, 29% of respondents expressed they have problems in taking bath regularly mainly because of lack of container and soap (Figure 21).Hygiene practices were also considered to be a major issue by nearly 40. 6% of the respondents, these respondents indicated that poor practices are due to both a lack of access to hygiene items, and a poor attitude brought on by a lack of knowledge. So the majority of the respondents signified that the distributed hygiene kits solved some of their problems and they were adhering to good hygienic practices. 17 7 Sanitation 7. 1 Defecation Before the DRC intervention, the majority of the adults practiced open defecation. Because changing habits is not easy, the baseline assessment was designed to understand the risk practices that were most widespread and identify those that could be changed.From the point of view of controlling diarrhoea, the priorities for hygiene behavioral change included hand washing at critical times and safe stool disposal. To this end, the efforts of the organization brought significant behavioral change. From the end-line survey it is noted that 85% of the respondents use traditional latrines, which is up from 0%. Similarly, when asked to indicate the best option for defecation, 85% indicated the latrine. On the other hand, privacy, water pollution, presence of bad smell and flies, as well as spread of disease was reported as the main problem related to open defecation practices (Figure 23). Respondents were also asked about post defecation cleansing habits and mostly indicated pieces of paper. Figure 23: Problems related to defecation practice 18Considering the majority of respondents indicated that a latrine is the best option for defecation, and that the main issue with defecation is privacy, disease, wa ter pollution, smell and environmental pollution, it was observed that the traditional latrine which is constructed by the participation of the communities has been welcomed and used by the community. In the baseline survey it was found out that inadequate sanitary conditions and poor hygiene practices played major roles in the increased burden of communicable disease within the village. Similarly, the baseline information stated that beneficiaries had problems with access to safe water and sanitation facilities. To this end, DCR Gambella set a strategy to solve the problems through community participation. DRC- Gambella inculcates the basic principles and approaches Sanitation) of into CLTS the (Community newly Lead Total PHAST designed Participatory hygiene and Sanitation Transformation) training. As both approaches opt for communities’ participations and empowerment and focus on igniting a change in sanitation and hygiene behaviour, a PHAST training manual that encompasses both PHAST methodology and catalysts for change in sanitation behaviour was prepared and distributed. After community based health promotions work, and community conversation establishments at each village, the accessibility to sanitation facilities and sanitation practices improved. 1446 households who completed hand washing points and traditional pit latrine (See the figure on the right side) were awarded NFI to recognize their efforts of behavioral changes.Hand washing after stool contact and safe disposal of stool have been priorities in hygiene and sanitation promotion interventions in Wanthowa Woreda. By understanding that for the quickest and widest adoption of good hygienic practices it is often more cost-effective to rely on social ambitions rather than health arguments to encourage change, DRC linked hygiene promotion works with social and cultural values, norms as well as NFI distributions, such that all hygiene promotions were linked with cultural problems of Nuer socie ty and social values. As a result good improvements in both hand 19 washing and safe stool disposal were registered. This can be confirmed by looking at the end line KAP survey results. 7. Waste and Waste Management The majority of disease measures are related to environmental conditions: appropriate shelter, clean water, good sanitation, and vector control, personal protection such as (insecticide-treated nets, personal hygiene and health promotion). Appropriate waste disposal mechanism is vital to avoid environmental pollution and breading place for vectors and pathogens. In this regards, the majority of the respondents (75%) indicated that they are now burning the household solid wastes on timely bases (Figure 24). The number of respondents who had been disposing solid wastes in open space and river significantly decreased after the interventions.Figure 24: waste disposal practice 20 The problems concerning waste were indicated in flies, bad smell, breeding place for mosquitoes. Majority of the respondents understood that appropriate solid waste disposal plays a vital role in minimizing the breading of vectors and other pathogens (Figure 25). Figure 25: Problems related to waste disposal The majority of respondents indicated that the practice used to dispose household waste is burning. Improvement in waste disposal and keep the villages clean is observed by DRC field staffs. Similarly the views of the majority of the respondents on the attributes of clean and health village is improved.It is noted that availability of safe water, cleanness of the village and availability of latrine considered by more than three fourth of the respondents as the attributes of clean and health village in the end-line survey. But those we stated the same were nearly 50% in the baseline survey. 21 Similarly, the benefits of keeping a village were mainly identified as decrease of diseases occurrence, improved beauty of village, minimized presence of mosquitoes and flies by more t han three fourth of the respondents in the end-line where as this nearly 53% in the baseline. From end-line survey, it can be inferred that majority of respondents indicated that important public health factors such as availability of safe water and atrines, absence of stagnant water and mosquitoes among the attributes of an healthy village. They also noted that this has great impact in reduction of infection disease prevalence. Hence, it can be concluded that the understanding of the majority of the respondents on disease transmission, transmission routes and its preventions tremendously improved after the interventions. 22 8 Conclusion Diarrhoea causes dehydration and kills approximately 2. 2 million people, mostly children, every year. Children are more likely than adults to die from diarrhea because they become dehydrated more quickly. In the past 10 years, diarrhea has killed more children than all of the people lost to armed conflict since World War II.Its occurrence is closel y related to the opportunities that poor people (especially poor mothers) have to improve domestic hygiene10. Diarrhoea does not only cause disease and early death in children, but also affects children’s nutritional status, stunting children’s physical and intellectual growth over time. Skin and eye infections are especially common in arid areas. Both diarrhoea and other infectious diseases have health as well as socio-economic consequences. Washing more often can greatly reduce their spread11 . Similarly, the training manual of Amhara region indicated that improved hygiene, particularly hand washing at critical times can reduce diarrhea by one third and reduce malnutrition12. Soiled hands are an important source of transmitting diarrhoeas.Recent research also suggests that hand washing is an important preventive measure in the incidence of acute respiratory infections, one of the top killer of children under five. 13 This KAP survey was conducted in order to compare its results with the results of the baseline survey, to identify whether the hygiene promotion activities conducted in the frame of the ECHO funded project had been effective. The baseline and end-line survey results revealed that positive results have been achieved in the overall hygiene situation. In the baseline survey the situation was poor i. e. lack of safe water, poor sanitation facilities, poor hygiene practice etc. At the end of the project, an improvement was noted in the overall hygiene and sanitation behaviour.Though improvements were noticed after the implementation of project, it should not be forgotten that it takes time to consolidate behaviour changes, so more follow up is necessary for further improvement. 10 11 12 (Curtis et al. , 2000). Brian Appleton and Christine van Wijk (IRC), 2003. Amhara Regional State Health Bureau, 2011; Isabel Carter, 2005 13 See for instance the study of Ryan et al. published in 2001 23 9 RECOMMENDATIONS Although the WASH project can be en seen as a success, the team noted some recommendations for future interventions. ? ? Construct 15 shell wells in Lolkuach village so that inhabitants meet SPHERE standards Assess whether it is possible to dig wells in the locations where people move to during the dry season ?Introduce rain water harvesting techniques, which are easy sources of potable water and would reduce the distance travelled to access water, thus improving the protection status of the women and girls that are responsible for this task. ? ? Follow up on well water quality in rehabilitated wells Although respondents recognized that animal feces can contaminate water, only 15% in the end-line noted that the proximity of a latrine to a water source can contaminate drinking water. This could be stressed and improved in future hygiene promotion activities. 24 10 References 1. Amhara Regional State Health Bureau (2011). Training Manual on Hygiene and Sanitation Promotion and Community Mobilization for Volunteer Com munity Health Promoters (VCHP)/ Draft for Review. Online Available at: http://pdf. usaid. gov/pdf_docs/PNADP828. pdf 2. Andrea Naylor.Development and Implementation of Sanitation Survey Using a Knowledge Attitudes Practices (KAP) Model. University of South Florida (Tampa): CGN6933 â€Å"Sustainable Development Engineering: Water, Sanitation, Indoor Air, Health† and PHC6301 â€Å"Water Pollution and Treatment†. 3. Brian Appleton and Christine van Wijk (IRC) (2003). Hygiene Promotion Thematic Overview Paper. IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre 4. Boot, Marieke T. and Cairncross, Sandy (1993). Actions speak: The study of hygiene behaviour in water and sanitation project. The Hague: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 5. CAWST (Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology) (2009) Household water treatment and safe storage factsheet: natural coagulants.Online Available at: http://cawst. org/en/resources/pubs/file/38-hwts-fact-sheets-academic-en glish 6. Davis, J. and Lambert, R (2002) Engineering in emergencies – A practical guide for relief, workers 2nd edition, Rugby: Practical actions publishing 7. Dev Sehgal, J. (2005) A guide to rainwater harvesting in Malaysia. Online Available at: http://www. wasrag. org/downloads/technology/A%20Guide%20to%20Rainwater%20Ha rvesting%20in%20Malaysia. pdf 8. Esrey, S. A. (1994). Complementary strategies for decreasing diarrhea morbidity and mortality: water and sanitation. Paper presented at the Pan American Health Organization, March 2-3. 9. Gould, J. & Nissen-Petersen, E. 2005) Rainwater catchment systems for domestic supply. Rugby: ITDG publishing. 25 10. Green, C. E. (2001). Can qualitative research produce reliable quantitative findings? Field Methods 13(3), 3-19. 11. Isabel Carter (2005). Encouraging good hygiene and sanitation. A PILLARS Guide. Tearfund. A company limited by guarantee. Regd in England No 994339. Registered Charity No 265464. 12. Laurent, P. (2005) Househo ld drinking water systems and their impact on people with weakened immunity. MFS-Holland, Public health department. Online Available at: http://www. who. int/household_water/research/HWTS_impacts_on_weakened_immun ity. pdf 13. McKee, Neill (1992).Social mobilization and social marketing in developing communities: Lessons for communicators. Penang: Southbound. 14. Nichter, M. (1993). Social science lessons from diarrhea research and their application to ARI. Human Organization 52(1), 53-67. 15. Ouagadougou: Ministere de la Sante du Burkina Faso. Curtis, V. A. , Cairncross, S, Yonli, R. (2000) Domestic hygiene and diarrhoea, pinpointing the problem. Tropical Medicine and International Health 5(1):22-32. 16. Pru? ss, A. , Kay, D. , Fewtrell, L. & Bartram, J. (2002). Estimating the global burden of disease from water, sanitation, and hygiene at the global level. Environmental Health Perspectives 110(5), 537–542. 17.Ryan, M. A. K, Christian, R. Wohlrabe, J. (2001). Hand washing an d respiratory illness among young adults in military training. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 21(2):79-83. 18. Saade, Camille, Bateman, Massee, Bendahmane, Diane B. (2001). The story of a successful public-private partnership in Central America: Handwashing for diarrheal disease prevention. Arlington, BASICS, EHP, UNICEF, USAID and World Bank. 19. UNICEF (2000). Learning from experience: Evaluation of UNICE’s water and environmental sanitation programme in India, 1966-1998. New York, UNICEF Evaluation Office, Division of Evaluation, Policy and Planning. 26 20. Verma, B.L. & Srivastava, R. N. (1990). Measurement of the personal cost of illness due to some major water-related diseases in an Indian rural population. International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 19, No. 1: 169-175. 21. Water Quality and Health Councils (2010) Water storage tips to assist in emergency preparedness. Online Available at: http://www. waterandhealth. org/drinkingwater/water_storage. php3 22. WH O (World Health Organization) (2008a) Safer water, better health – Costs, benefits and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote the health. Online Available at: http://whqlibdoc. who. int/publications/2008/9789241596435_eng. pdf 23.WHO (World Health Organization) (2008b) Guidelines for drinking-water quality- Third edition Incorporating the first and second addenda. Online Available at: http://www. who. int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/fulltext. pdf 24. WHO(2002). Water Supply. Environmental Health in Emergency. Online Available at: http://www. who. int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/emergencies/em2002chap7. pdf 25. WHO/UNICEF (2005). Water for Life: Making it happen. http://www. who. int/water_sanitation_health/waterforlife. pdf . 26. WHO & UNICEF (2006). Meeting the MDG Water and Sanitation Target: The Urban and Rural Challenge of the Decade, WHO, Geneva and UNICEF, New York. 27. WSSCC (2004).The Campaign: WASH Facts and Figures. Online Available at: Online Av ailable at: http://www. wsscc. org/dataweb. cfm? edit_id=292&CFID=13225&CFTOKEN=70205233. 28. Wijk, Christine van (1998). Gender in water resources management, water supply and sanitation: Roles and realities revisited. Technical paper No. 33-E). The Hague: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. 29. http://www. unicef. org/media/files/JMPreport2012. pdf: UNICEF, WHO: Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation update 2012 UPDATE. 27 30. http://www. cdc. gov/healthywater/global/wash_statistics. html : Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (2012) Global WASH Fast Facts 28

Olympic Games in London 2012 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Olympic Games in London 2012 - Term Paper Example LOCOG has conducted a number of pilot tests prior to the official launch of the event and those were focused to ensure that the general public transport and working routine does not get affected by the event. For this purpose walking tracks have been established that would lead to the sports park and would avoid large lanes of traffic in form of visitors visiting the place. Manuals and city maps are being spread online and at the local level. The Daily Telegraph reported a large number of bookings from the visitors in advance who are bound to visit the city during the event. For the entire purpose London Transport Plan ( 2nd edition) was released in 2009 which took into consideration factors like passengers routes, visitors stay, businesses and motels handling and all other factors that were necessary to be taken into account (LOCOG, 2010). The entire project was split into various sections that lasted for a particular period.Between 2007 and 2011 the development process was named as â€Å"Building the stage† which included establishing the infrastructure of the entire event taking into consideration all the variables involved. (LOCOG, 2012) while the second part (2011 onwards plan) constituted the final touches and enabling the successful organization of the event. The internal environment includes the gigantic sports stadium arena termed the Sports park can accommodate over 80 thousand spectators at one time. It is the first Olympic even that will be HD-TV supported. It has a separate broadcast center that will have the capacity for over 20 thousand media representatives. For ensuring error proof performance and event organization, a number of pilot events were organized in a bid to analyze the level of preparation. The management team needs to facilitate not just the organizers and media person but the athletes as well. For this purpose effective strategy has been devised that will meet the needs. The Risk factor consideration is also taken into account and impact of various issues on the mega event. LOCOG board has established a panel for this purpose that involves the active participation of senior management for mitigating the risks.

Breathing underwater Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Breathing underwater - Essay Example He had it all – a rich family, plenty of money, a good school and classmates and his beautiful girlfriend Caitlin. He was also popular for being one of the top athletes and students of his school. The author Alexandra Flinn, had undertaken extensive research on the topic of batterers by taking into consideration the different counseling and anger control programs given for such people. The author had always been working with victims of domestic violence and the perpetrators of such crimes. From a literary standpoint, she took the liberty of presenting this incredibly touching story from the viewpoint of the abuser. Alexandra Flinn focuses on the theme of violence within the framework of a love relationship shared between two teenagers, Nick and Caitlin. As the story unfolds, the author vividly explains how love had turned to violence which finally snuffed out a beautiful relationship. She also gives us a clear picture how each made use of the other to get what they needed for the moment. Nick came from an affluent family but did not experience a mother’s love. Moreover, he had a father who was violent and was never there when Nick needed him most. Therefore, Nick craved for love and affection and someone to listen to his hopes and fears. This need was satisfied in the form of his girlfriend Caitlin whom he loved a lot. Caitlin too loved Nick but at the same time got whatever she wanted from him. Though she catered to his whims and fancies, she stood her ground whenever the need arose. As time passed, Nick gradually started acting jealous and displaying violent behavior. He badly needed to release the pressure he faced with his father on the home front and uses Caitlin in an abusive manner to get rid of his pent up feelings. The novel opens with a court scene where his girlfriend Caitlin is seen testifying against him for slapping her. Nick had loved Caitlin for she was smart and beautiful and she loved Nick too. But all that changed after she

Business Organizations; Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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A)The financial crisis of 2007-2010 was it simply the result of lax Essay

A)The financial crisis of 2007-2010 was it simply the result of lax regulation, or were a range of factors at play (50 marks) - Essay Example The first phase, as explained below, is Novel Offering. Finally, I will discuss the link between the crises and the factors such as Crises of Financialisation and contradiction. The crises will also be explained from an economic theory pint of view (Peretz and Schroedel 2009). Novel Offerings Novel offerings are sources of revenue used by banks and other financial institutions by trading in different financial products. For the last few decades, the context of deregulation has greatly contributed towards development of these financial products. For example, since 1970s, different regulations controlling the actions of financial institutions in the UK and USA have been loosening up. This includes Glass Steagall, which had been instituted to disjoin the people’s savings from the riskier operations of investment banks. The banks resulted in creation of shadow baking system, which allowed them to circumvent the rule that required them to balance the risk on their books with some l evel of capital. Securitisation, Boom and collapse of shadow banking The shadow banking system is believed to have traded the worst performing and the riskiest mortgages. These systems put extensive pressure upon the traditional institutions hence forcing them to soften their underwriting standards and start dealing with riskier loans. These banks were later criticised for underpinning the financial system, though they were not accountable to the same regulatory controls. What’s more, these banks were susceptible because of maturity mismatch, implying that they borrowed short-term loans from liquid markets and bought illiquid, long-term, but risky assets. The uncontrolled practices of such banks are the core of the 2007 financial crises – the situation could have been better if regulation was imposed on all activities related with banking. In the spring of 2007, the securitization markets were helped by shadow banking systems, leading to a more or less shut-down in the fall of 2008. What ensued was disappearance from market of more than a third of the private credit market (Thompson 2005). Figure 1 shows how securitization market came near shut-down during the crises. Figure 1: Decline of securitization market Securitisation is the process by which a certain assets’ cash-flows are separated from the balance sheet of the primary entity and transformed into marketable securities (Thompson 1995). The purpose of securitisation is to convert illiquid assets into marketable securities. It is used by insures as a form of risk management, which is achieved through transferring, commoditising and reallocating of different types of risks such as interest rate risk, credit risk, and pricing risk. Securitisation of the US subprime mortgage, according to Ingham (2008), fuelled the global crises during the summer of 2007 by increasing the extent of lending to subprime borrowers, which was happening at a very high default rate. Between 2004 and 2006, the market for subprime loans expanded significantly as shown in figure 2. As a result, the European and the US banks were writing off a massive amount of financial assets as the securitised mortgages became illiquid. The public money was used by many governments to bail out the financial institutions that were entangled into crises. Although it is usually a regulatory requirement to undertake credit rating on

Timberland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Timberland - Essay Example It is famous for its increased development from being a Boot maker to a larger Earth keeper. Timberland has CEOS who have desirable traits; they have negotiation skills and humility. These are the success factors of timberland that made it appear on top of other companies. Timberland stakeholders are futuristic about the company’s development. It does not concentrate only on its success but also what benefits it can bring to the earth. The stakeholders of Timberland Company work to the success of the company. They do not put in their self –dealings. Timberland Company progressed well due to the presence of devoted stakeholders who generate new ideas of improving the company. This company extended its service to other companies making it unique. It goes into partnership with other company stakeholders, which will provide support to its developing issues. Example of such stakeholders includes its partnership with Boston’s City year. Timberland in partnership with this company promotes community service. Timberland ensures that whatever chosen goal in place relates to social responsibility and sensitivity to the environment. Timberland focus on Earth keeping it profitable to the company. All the processes at timberland involve the sensitivity to the environmental conservation. Unlike other companies, Timberland Company is concerned about the keeping of the environment whenever it undertakes any activity within the company. It works on the principle that one can run a profitable business and be considerate to basic human rights. During the production process, Timberland uses the recycled materials that are cost effective as compared to using new ones. It produces boots that have green soles, which are from recycled materials. By using materials, which are possible to recycle and are harmful to the environment, it promotes environment

Presentation, overview, timeline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Presentation, overview, timeline - Essay Example Ptolemy, who headed a considerable number of Alexander’s former troops, proposed they divide the empire among the generals, which was convenient for his ambition. When Alexander died after being ill in Babylon in the year 323 BC, his general (Ptolemy) led a fraction of Alexander’s army back to Egypt where Ptolemy pronounced himself pharaoh. Ptolemy successfully fought off his competing generals’ armies; hence, establishing the Ptolemaic dynasty that persisted for 300 years in Egypt: Ptolemy I to XV (305 – 30 BC). Cleopatra VII (51-30 BC) inherited Egypt from her father; Ptolemy XII (80-51BC) married her older brother Ptolemy XII, who later drowned in battle against Julius Caesar. Cleopatra then married her younger brother Ptolemy XIV; however, she bore a son with Caesar who became Ptolemy XV for the period (44 – 30 BC). After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Ptolemy I nominally acted as a satrap for some time under the successors of Alexander; howe ver, the successors were not strong enough and the empire began to break up (Aufderheide 247). For Ptolemy dynasty to survive heirs had to be produced; hence, Ptolemy I married four wives with the last wife producing his heir Ptolemy II (Rolle 33; Collins 68). Fourteen kings of the dynasty were referred to as Ptolemy and numbered from I – XV, with the remarkable aspect of the monarch being the prominence of women, who rose to power when their brothers or sons were very young (Bugh 41). Ptolemy XII was king of Egypt from 80 to 51 BC officially known as Neos Dionysos although popularly known as Auletes. Auletes was the illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX Lathyrus, who died without designated heir; hence, with the help of political parties, the young Ptolemy became heir to the throne taking the name Ptolemy XII. The accession took place without the blessing of powerful a powerful Roman diplomat, which engendered the thoughts of possible Roman seizure of the country; however, the thre at was partially resolved in 59 BC. Through the help of Julius Caesar Ptolemy gained full status of recognised head of Egypt through the Roman senate in 59 at a price of 6,000 talents of gold, and pay the bribe he had to enforce ruthless taxation program to the easily enflamed subjects; besides, his children included Cleopatra, Absinoe, Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV (Bunson 351). Ptolemy XIII, the son of Ptolemy XII, brother of Cleopatra tried and failed to win the throne of his nation from his sister and Julius Caesar; nevertheless, they both ruled together. Their rule was tough since both of them were surrounded by a group of ambitious counsellors, which resulted in tense political struggle in the palace. The young king departed from the palace to join his army and although he showed real military talent, he was no match for Caesar who faced him in battle resulting in the defeat of Ptolemy XIII. After the demise of Ptolemy XIII, Julius Caesar placed Ptolemy XIV (the younger brother to Cleopatra) in the throne together with Cleopatra. Officially Ptolemy XIV was to be her sister’s consort, but because he was about 10 to 12 years old at the time, Cleopatra was the true power within the land and presumably killed her brother after Caesar was assassinated (Bunson 351). When Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, Cleopatra supported Mark Antony against Octavian who became Caesar Augustus and when Octavian declared war on the duo, Cleopatra raised and commanded army that

JKL International plc. International Human Resource Essay Example for Free

JKL International plc. International Human Resource Essay INTRODUCTION With the trend of globalisation, the number of multinational companies is constantly increasing as well as expatriates (Business Recorder, 2011). Expatriate management now is an essential issue of human resource department because it takes a large amount of budget from the corporation. It is inevitable for expatriates to face culture barriers in subsidiaries because of unique national cultures in all countries over the world. National culture is cultural experiences, beliefs, learned behaviour patterns, and values shared by citizens of the same nation (Neale _et al_, 2006, p. 26). A national culture will significantly affect any employee working in firms and furthermore, national culture will influence the management framework in a company as well accompanied with organisational culture so that cross culture management is helpful not only for the supervisors decisions but also for employees especially for expatriates (Chen, 2006, p. 2). In the case study of JKL, it showed a range of problems in their expatriates which related national cultures and JKL will implement a British managerial system into its Russian subsidiary. This essay will first examine the problems and issues in managing expatriates in JKL and then evaluate the proposal from Jim Flinn, the CEO of Zagorski who will apply an entire British managerial system into a Russian subsidiary. ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT (CASE STUDY) JKL is a British pharmaceutical company which was founded in 1925 and it has expanded its business by acquiring other pharmaceutical companies in Malaysia, India, Greece and USA. Recently, JKL has made the largest acquisition of Zagorski, a pharmaceutical company in Russia. At the headquarter of UK, JKL applies a decentralised organisational structure. All managers are required to give their own opinions to avoid some drawbacks of group decision making which is conformity pressure in groups (Robbins and Judge, 2009, p.336). Employees are allowed to propose valuable ideas to manufacture and administrative systems as well. Supervisors will award monetary incentives (one of the physical needs) as motivation to employees and managers (Carrell, Elbert and Hatfield, 2000, p.129) if their initiatives are judged as potential innovations. On the other hand, in subsidiaries, JKL applied localised human resource practices in order to fit local cultural values and legal systems (Dowling, Festing and Engle, 2008, p.217) by keeping local managers with existing  organisational and managerial systems. In past years, those subsidiaries in Malaysia, India and Greece were continually making profits to JKL and JKL also regularly sent managers and specialists to those subsidiaries for expatriation in a period of time. After the acquisition of Zagorski, Dr. Jim Flinn will be the CEO who had spent last three years in the subsidiary of USA. PART ONE: EXPATRIATES MANAGEMENT AND CROSS CULTURE MANAGEMENT IN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS INTRODUCTION Culture is a popular topic in literature research and it could be described as a software of the mind (Hofstede, 1991, p. 2) .With the trend of globalisation, managing cultural differences has become an important issue in human resource management of multinational corporations. Misunderstanding may be occurred if culture differences are not well-managed even these colleagues are working in the same organisation (Hall, 1995, p.6). In the case study, seven expatriates of JKL have their own problems and for JKL, there is a high expatriate leaving rate after repatriation (Appendix F). This essay will identify the problem of seven expatriates working in JKL and its subsidiaries and after that, rational proposals of changes will be given to them on the basis of improvements of JKLs human resource department. EXPATRIATES AND ORGANISATION PROBLEMS AND PROPOSALS FOR CHANGES EXPATRIATES In the case study it lists seven expatriates with their problems and in the following essay they will be numbered from A to G. A (RETURNED FROM PENNSYLVANIA, USA) According to the case study, expatriate A was the first expatriate to Pennsylvania because of an attractive salary. The reason of returning is that expatiate A was annoyed about following managers received better compensation packages than him although they were almost doing the same works. The main problems of the human resource department of JKL are rewarding system and lack of correct performance appraisal system. Every employee believes, and most experts believe, that pay and rewards are an important part of an organisations human resource management (Harris, Brewster and Sparrow, 2003, p.91). In fact, the first expatriate to a subsidiary will face loads of difficulties in practical and then try to solve them as a pioneer (Business Wire, 1998). As a result, the first expatriate is deserved to have a better compensation package than followers. As the perspective of organisation, the first expatriate may important to human resource managers because this person can be regarded as a training model of human resource management (Arusha Times, 2009, p.16). On the other hand, because of lacking effective performance appraisal, expatriate A had a lower compensation package compared with following managers and that may be the reason of the compensation package of expatriate A was retain unvarying for a long time as well. Expatriates sometimes will feel unfair if performance evaluate system is not effective enough because insufficient performance appraisal system may make expatriates uncertain of their performance especially for those hard working expats (Gordon, 2010, p.56). The possible solution of dealing this problem is establishing an effective reward system by performance appraisal (Performance -related reward system). Performance-related pay (PRP) can change the payment from a rigid structure to a flexible way depended on performance (Harris, Brewster and Sparrow, 2003, p.94). By applying this system, the productivity of employees will be significantly increased and for expatriates, they will be motivated and more  willing to finish their assignments as well (Gielen, Kerkhofs and Van, 2010, p.299). Furthermore, accurate evaluation is also a factor which company need to take account because there is an essential link between motivation and performance appraisal (Carrell, Elbert and Hatfield, 2000, p.315). B (RETURNED FROM INDIA) The reason of expatriate B returning to UK is that his spouse and child had enough of India living and schooling as seemed to be suffering (Case Study). The main problem of the human resource department of JKL is expatriate selection especially in cross-cultural suitability and family. Cross-cultural suitability and family are two of the most crucial criteria of expatriate selection (Dowling, Festing and Engle, 2008, p.120). In culture aspect, Hofstedes national culture model demonstrated the main various between UK and India in power distance and individualism (Appendix A). According to appendix A, the power distance column in India is much higher than it in UK as well as individualism so that there maybe the reason of his spouse had enough of India. In addition, unlike Western Europe civilisation, there is a caste system in India which cause the high power distance and many females in India basically are not regarded as equal to males (Robert _et al_., 2000, pp.654-656). Moreover, individualism in India is much less important than UK so that residents in India intend to work, study and live collectively (South Asian Studies, 2011) that is totally different to UK. As a result, the wife and child keened on back to UK because of the cultural adjustment problem while her husband was still working only with British colleagues (Case Study). The solutions will be provided here are selecting an appropriate candidate as an expatriate and putting more emphasis on cross-cultural suitability and family requirement. Cotemporary, the family element is having more important weight in expatriate selection because of non-working factors and potential influence to working expatriates (Andreason and Aaron, 2008, pp. 386-387). C (RETURNED AFTER A-FIVE-YEAR-ASSIGNMENT AND WOULD BE SENT OUT IMMEDIATELY) The problem of JKL here is about repatriate management and in detail; it will be related to re-entry management. In general, after completing an international assignment, an expatriate will go back to the home country as called re-entry or repatriation (Harzing and Ruysseveldt, 2004, p.337). However, most repatriates will cope with culture shock after they back to the home country. Using an example of India and UK here, although many British work in India as expats for its booming economic and after their finishing assignments, back to UK, they therefore only find they cannot work under a UK context (The International Herald Tribune, 2009). That may be the reason that JKL sent employee C abroad again without hesitation in order to avoid coping with culture shocks (Case Study). It is obviously that JKL need to improve their repatriate management and there are many models here from other multinational companies. JKL could Offer repatriation training, pre-departure training, and re-entry orientation to employees and their families (Liu, 2005, p.129) and expats can increase the awareness of repatriation and decrease the uncertainty after back to the home country . Moreover, JKL could prepare a job vacancy in expatriate management division of human resource management because expatriates have various working experiences in other countries (Berman and Ursula, 2009, pp.80-81). D (NOW WORKING IN GREECE AS AN EXPATRIATE) The major issue of expatriate D in Greece now is adapting the local customs and culture in Greece although JKL had a prepared pre-departure training programme (Case Study). In Hofstedes national culture demonstration of UK and Greece (Appendix B), the uncertainty avoidance is extremely high and no long-term orientation in Greece. In the case of expatriate D, a problem of communication is occurred as well. In theoretical aspect, there four problems in cross-cultural oral communication: semantics, word connotations, tone differences and differences among perceptions (Robbins and Judge, 2009, pp.407-408) and English and Greek are classified to two different language system. As a result, it will take a longer training  programme to completely learn and understand a foreign language. Likewise the body language and gestures in England are slightly different to the world, for example, a V gesture means victory or peace in many countries but in England, if the palm and fingers face inward, it means up yours especially if executed with an upward jerk of the fingers (New York Times, 1996, p.E7). Consequently, post-departure training is a rational option for expatriate D to continually make adjustments into Greek culture. The reason is that post-departure training is suit for expatriates living in a country which has an entirely different culture and it can accelerate accustoming another culture (Managing Training and Development, 2005). E AND F (CONFUSED AFTER REPATRIATE) Expatriate E and F have similar problems after finishing their international assignments because JKL currently have no response about their repatriate (Case Study). The problem of JKL must be repatriate management. The possible solution will be provided here is putting emphasis on repatriate management. In fact, in last ten years, there is an increasing number of multinational corporations focus on repatriate management while in 1990s, only few companies would hold a re-entry discussion. According to a survey in 1997, only 27% firms supposed to hold a discussion about re-entry and it had been improved in 2000s. In 2004, there are 86% companies intended to discuss the re-entry issue (Dowling, Festing and Engle, 2008, p.199). JKL could offer repatriate supports to repatriates such as give interaction to human resource management to increase the sense of loyalty so that the company can avoid losing these experienced employees (Harzing and Ruysseveldt, 2004, pp. 343-344). G (THOUGHT GREEK DISCRIMINATE AGAINST FEMALE) From expatriate Gs case, it seems Greek dislike the idea of female even she is well qualified or experienced (Case Study). Thus, for JKL, it shall  investigate the culture and even the working environment in Greece. From Hofstedes national culture model, UK and Greece possess almost the same figure in masculinity and Greece actually has a lower masculinity figure than UK (Appendix B). However, the power distance in Greece is much higher than it in UK which means whatever a male or female, their ideas are hardly applied to supervisors as an employee. In Greek working condition, it is surprisingly to find much evidence of discrimination against female. According to an official report written by Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT) (2002, pp.13-21), there are approximately 4500 rapes in working communities every year and only 6% are reported to police. Furthermore, Sexual harassment in communities is common in Greece due to no specific legislation of sexual harassment. Those factors may be the reasons of Greek male employees discriminate against female in the working place. In JKLs view, it is a challenge to solve this problem as well, one of the effective ways is sending a male expatriate instead of female employee in Greece to prevent any hidden risks in Greece and make further investigation in Greek subsidiaries. ORGANISATION From the case study, JKL have a high expatriate failure rate (Exceed 46%) in subsidiaries except USA (Appendix F). JKL has paid a low attention on cross culture management because it applies a localised managerial system and most managers in the subsidiaries are from the host countries. In fact, many multicultural corporations which apply localised managerial system have the same issue in manage culture difference (National Centre for Vocational Education Research, 2006, p.1). According to Brunstein (1995, pp. 275-280), a localised managerial system will positively fit the local context and it is easier to bring profit like autonomy units in a shorter of time than centralised management system. However, the drawbacks are employees especially the expatriates from the parent company will probably face a huge  culture shock in the subsidiary if their cultures are totally different. As a result, JKL must release many improvements in human resource department especially in expatriate management field. If JKL continually applies a localised managerial system in acquired firms, it may only have problems on expatriates management. However, once the supervisors intended to transplant the whole management system into a country with entirely different national culture like flag-planting, it definitely will bring a serious impact to the target subsidiary and the worst consequence may like the failure of Japanisation entering UK in 1990s. CONCLUSION The main problem that JKL has is on its international human resource management as a part of managerial system. In the case study, seven expatriate had a range of typical expatriate problems comprising training, expatriate selection and repatriate management. Moreover, 43 per cent of expatriate left JKL after their repatriation and at least 46 per cent of expatriate cannot complete their tour in subsidiaries except USA. In short, those fundamental factors of expatriates problems are totally based on various national cultures that JKL need to take account in its cross culture management. PART TWO: APPRAISE THE DECENTRALISED MANAGERIAL SYSTEMS OF JKL APPLIED IN RUSSIAN AFFILIATE INTRODUCTION Like national cultures, many companies have developed their own organisational culture as well as managerial structure. Organisational structure is important to multinational corporations because it will definitely interact with different national cultures in host countries (Francesco and Gold, 2005, p.236). In the case study, JKL applies a  polycentric control system in Malaysia, India and Greece and decision making authority is awarded to subsidiaries in order to avoid drawbacks on the motivation and political problems in these countries (Stonehouse _et al_, 2004, pp.382-383). As a result, those subsidiaries make profit very shortly (Case Study). This essay will evaluate Jim Flinns proposal who intends to transplant a whole managerial system from JKL headquarter to its Russian affiliate. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS OF JKLS AND ZAGORSKIS STRUCTURES AND MANAGERIAL SYSTEMS At the headquarter in UK and its affiliate in USA, JKL uses a decentralised management structure and employees will be empowered to make decisions on their own works (Case Study). Currently, many European multinational companies applied decentralised managerial structure and developed an organisational culture called old boys network with high autonomy (Bartlett, Ghoshal and Birkinshaw 2003 pp.342-343). Decentralised structure is one of the most successful management systems in transnational corporations which has experienced a long time modification and has generated many derivative systems. Under this system, diverse standards are made to fit specific manufacturing cases and it will enhance developing new and innovative products (Johnson _et al_, 2008, p. 166). For JKL, it is a brilliant choice because innovation is actually a crucial factor to a pharmaceutical company. Yet, the weak point of this system is hard to implement global business strategies because those subsidiaries are working as autonomies while Zagorski used to apply a centralised structure which renowned for the efficiency of implements business strategies. Furthermore, JKL developed a monitoring system with performance appraisal in headquarter and USA which can significantly motivate employees in working place (Decenzo and Robbins, 1999, pp. 292-294). However, there are a few weaknesses of performance appraisal system. For example, a report from General Electric (GE) which applied performance appraisal system and it found that those employees who received a honest but negative feedback from supervisors would actually not motivated them but decrease the motivation in their work  (Oberg, 2000, p. 64). On the contrast, a centralised structure has a formal bureaucracy system with a tall hierarchy and fixed official duties (Francesco and Gold 2005, pp.240-241). This structure is therefore suit for small or middle-sized companies at the beginning stage for effective control power in strategy implementation (Jeong, 2001, p. 446). One the other hand, the Economist (2004, p.33) found that with the increasing size of firms, a centralised structure will constantly lose the efficiency of decision making process through the complicated bureaucracy system and the employees will get used to receive orders from supervisors instead of expressing their own idea. In addition, there is no performance related rewards in Zagorski because a tall hierarchy management system proposed to make a uniform management system by formalised, vertical and fair control so that regulations are designed to fit every employee as a same unit (Czinkota, Ronkainen and Moffett, 1999, p.712). NATIONAL CULTURE DIFFERENCES JKL used to transplant their management system to its subsidiary in USA and it successful worked. This is the main reason that Jim Flinn, the former manager in US affiliate wants to transplant the system to Russia again. Before making the final decision, it is necessary to analyse the reasons of this success in USA. As main economics in Europe and North America, there are many similarities in the national culture of UK and USA. According to Harris, Moran and Moran (2004, pp.297-298, pp. 437-440), free enterprise, culture affinity, English speaking, private, good manners, aggressive and self-realisation are the common key words of American and British. Moreover, in Hofstedes national culture model (Appendix C), the national culture of USA and UK are almost the same and in uncertainty avoidance column, USA is slightly higher than UK. However, Russia is totally a different country in East Europe. First, employees in Russia are regarded as a kind of cost rather than a resource (Organizational Dynamics, 1999, p.75). Second, beside the language usage, all management decisions are made by supervisors in business context.  Furthermore, Russian basically have a slow time sense and they intend to work collectively (Harris, Moran and Moran, 2004, pp.497-500). In Hofstedes national culture demonstration (Appendix D), Russia has a higher power distances, lower individualism, higher uncertainty avoidance and no long term orientation compared to UK and USA. From a report, Russian firms used to apply a reactor business strategy in order to meet immediate need instead of long term benefits but most of those companies are finally failed (Milles and Snow, 1978, p. 353). RELEVANT CASES After culture analysis, it is showed that there is a huge difference in national culture between Russia and UK. Hence, it is not sure that Jim Flinn will still succeed again in his transplanting programme. Look back at history, in 1990s, Japanisation once became a popular word in UK and Toyota established its manufacturing plant in Derby in 1992 because there was an existing skilled engineering workforce there (The Independent, 1992, p.23). During the early 1990s only about 55000 people were employed by Japanese companies in the UK (The Journal, 1999). Japanisation is a Japanese managerial system with Cost-centred Just in Time System, long term contracts, vertical integration to supplier and low labour turnover rate (Hasegawa, 2001, pp.165-166). However, once Japanese manager attempted to entirely implement this system into British subsidiaries, it was not worked effectively with British employees and many Japanese companies like Nissan finally failed in UK market because Japanese manufacturing method did not fit British economic and culture conditions with collective working method (Procter and Ackroyd, 1998, p. 241, pp.244-245). In Hofstedes national culture model (Appendix E), Japan is a collective, success oriented and long term oriented country with high uncertainty avoidance which is almost an opposite of UK. It is recommended to apply a centralised managerial structure in Russia because many most Russian companies applied a traditional production-oriented culture with strong factory patriotism just like a  typical Soviet traditions (Clarke, 2004, p. 418). In 2003, IKEA opened its first store in Russia and many Swedish worked in IKEA Russia as expatriates. After repatriation, their feedbacks are high power distance in the working place accompanied with rigid centralised management structures (Jonsson, 2008, p.34). Despite the nation culture of Russia possess a high power distance, there are some autonomous states in Russia which has rich unexplored natural resources such as Komi and Sakhalin actually have a more decentralised culture and many Dutch petroleum and pharmaceutical companies had established their affiliates with decentralised management structures in those regions (Condon, and Dauman, 1993, p.31). FORECAST According to the case study, Jim Flinn intends to use a top-down change approach to transplant the managerial structure which may be imposed in a coercive manner (Balogun and Hailey, 2004, p.27). Once Jim Flinn has completely applied the management system that used in the headquarter and USA, the employees in Russian subsidiaries have to cope with a huge culture difference from West Europe. Jim Flinn may draw attention on the success of Dutch pharmaceutical companies in Russia as mentioned before. Thus, in a short term, transition will be a main issue in Russian subsidiary and it probably will take a long time in this process. However, in a long term perspective, the management structure of JKLs headquarter may bring a range of benefits because a decentralised management system is exactly helpful in research and development department although the Russian employees are used to reluctant in changes (Case Study). CONCLUSION The main problem of JKLs Russian affiliate is culture adjustment if Jim Flinn transplants the whole management structure from JKL to Zagorski. In fact, national culture will strongly influence the organisational culture as well as managerial framework of a company. Changing management system in a  subsidiary is not a flag-planting work because of various national cultures involved. In the first part of essay, some expatriates actually have problems on their international assignments in India and Greece. Hence, it can be estimated that, after the transplantation, many local employees working in Russia subsidiaries may have the same problems. Furthermore, many previous cases above are provided which could be used as a reference to Jim Flinn as well. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This essay examined the problems in managing expatriates in JKL and evaluated the proposal from Jim Flinn who will transplant a British managerial system to a Russian subsidiary. Through these analyses, it is concluded that national culture will influence both expatriates and organisational cultures. It is essential for multinational corporations to have a good command of human resource management because of the large proportion budget of expatriates and efficiency of implementing business strategies. Managerial structure, on the other hand, it cannot be easily changed and sometime it will bring a series negative consequences in real business context because national cultures are involved as well. JKL have to improve its human resource department especially repatriate division and training programme to offer better supports to expatriates and eventually, there is a suggestion to Jim Flinn which is making further investigations on previous cases and local subsidiaries REFERENCE: Andreason and Aaron, W. (2008), Expatriate Adjustment of Spouses and Expatriate Managers: An Integrative Research Review, _International Journal of Management_, 25(2), pp.386-387. 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Intellectual Property Rights And Traditional Knowledge

Intellectual Property Rights And Traditional Knowledge Traditional knowledge encompasses the beliefs, knowledge, practices, innovations, arts, spirituality, and other forms of cultural practices that belong to indigenous communities worldwide. The intergovernmental board on rational property and inherent resources, customary awareness and tradition has met ten times since 2001 and the Tenth Session took place in Geneva, 30 November-8 December 2006. The committee has been discussing intellectual property issues as they arise in relation to the protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions and access to hereditary resources and profit sharing. 1) What is Indigenous/traditional Knowledge? Traditional Knowledge is the knowledge usually related to the environment. This knowledge is owned by the whole community. Holders of traditional knowledge want to be protected against publication of culturally sensitive information. A holder of traditional knowledge wants a system which can contribute to the preservation and safeguarding of traditional knowledge and the customary means for their development, preservation and transmission, and promote the conservation, maintenance, application and wider use of traditional knowledge, for the direct benefit of traditional knowledge holders in particular, and for the benefit of humanity in general. WIPO (1999) For example in Australia the case of Dr. Mountford, who undertook an expedition to the Northern Territory outback in 1940. Local Aboriginal people revealed to him tribal sites and objects possessing deep religious and cultural significance for them. The publication was held by the court as it could disclose information of deep religious and cultural significance to the Aborigines. The system should recognize the intrinsic value of traditional knowledge, including its social, spiritual, economic, intellectual, scientific, ecological, technological, commercial and educational value. Intellectual Property law: Intellectual property law covers a wide range of rights and privileges and in the UK is defined by s. 72(5) of the Supreme Court Act 1981 (amended by Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) to include; There are some serious concerns about the suitability of the existing IPR system to the indigenous peoples traditional knowledge. The indigenous communities generate and posses their traditional knowledge collectively. The difficulty experienced by indigenous peoples in trying to protect their traditional knowledge under intellectual property (IP) rights law stems mainly from its failure to satisfy the requirements for protection under existing IP law. Reference Chapter 2 WIPO (1999) â€Å"Intellectual Property Needs and Expectations of traditional knowledge Holders†, WIPO Report on Fact-Finding Missions 1998-1999, WIPO, Geneva (Publication Number 768E). Source: http://www.wipo.int/globalissues/tk/report/final/index.html 9/05/2008 Paragraph 19 of Doha WTO Ministerial Declaration (WTO Document No. WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1) adopted on 14 November 2001, calls for the TRIPS Council to examine the issue of protection of traditional knowledge and folklore. Source: http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min01_e/mindecl_e.doc Chapter Three Safety Of Sui-Generis Protection Of Traditional Knowledge And Genetic Resources 3.1. Introduction Traditional knowledge holders are concerned about loss of traditional lifestyles and knowledge because the young ones of the community cannot carry forward traditional practices. They also want their traditional knowledge to be respected together with the holders. They are against misappropriation of traditional knowledge including use of traditional knowledge without any benefit sharing, or use in a derogatory manner. Lack of recognition of the need to preserve and promote the further use of traditional knowledge is also their concern. They also advocate for equity considerations in the sense that the custodians of traditional knowledge to be fairly compensated if traditional knowledge leads to commercial gain. A single solution can hardly be expected to meet such a wide range of concerns and objectives.To address these concerns two options can be put in place namely: Intellectual property rights (IP)system Sui Generis Protection Intellectual property rights (IP) system Intellectual property system can be utilised to commercialize traditional knowledge or prevent its misuse. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in Australia have obtained a national certification trademark. The intellectual property system is useful to universities and RD organizations first as a source of information from where further knowledge can be created and can be used to plan for further studies in the area of concern and as literature. It can be used as a source for products and services when their industrial or commercial exploitation is used for social, cultural or economic gains. Correa, C. (2001) However hindrances for effective management of intellectual property rights are those associated with the lack of abundance in reference materials, necessary to create confidence. Often, the institutional policy will not cover all the areas associated with the different areas of intellectual property. Lack of a dynamic and rewarding policy, which is fully communicated to members, will also be of some hindrance. It is important that stakeholders are involved in its evolution and review process. Finally, the difficulty of enforcement due to infrastructural shortcomings should be expected. This would be viewed as a result of funding, cultural issues and weak economics and industries Sui generic system Sui generis is a Latin phrase which means â€Å"of its own kind.† It is a system which has been designed specifically to address the needs and concerns of a particular issue. Prior Informed Consent Countries have already decided that the existing intellectual property system is not, on its own, adequate to protect traditional knowledge. A number of them have enacted or are in the process of enacting sui generis systems of protection. Access by other parties will be based on the prior informed consent (PIC) of the community obtained accordIng to customary laws. Any benefits arising from genetic resources or associated knowledge will be equitably shared. The Philippines has enacted legislation, and is considering further provisions, giving indigenous communities rights over their traditional knowledge. Access by other parties will be based on the prior informed consent (PIC) of the community obtained accordIng to customary laws. Any benefits arising from genetic resources or associated knowledge will be equitably shared. Costa Rica has not yet fulfilled the participatory process to determine the nature and extent of the sui generis communitary intellectual rights. With this system apart from sharing the benefits, if tangible returns are generated it can attract greater involvement of younger members of the community. However with such a wide range of material to protect and such diverse reasons for â€Å"protecting it†, it may be that a single all-encompassing sui generis system of protection for traditional knowled.The system would allow all plant genetic resources to be monopolised. Plant breeding would thus come to a standstill. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) The Convention, which was agreed in 1992, seeks to promote the conservation of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources. It asserts the sovereign rights of nations over their national resources, the right to determine access according to national legislation with the aim of facilitating the sustainable use of these resources, promoting access and their common use.   To date about more than fifty countries have developed national access and benefit sharing legislation. Some of the examples are mention below. a) â€Å"Pakistan ( Draft Legislation on Entry to Biological and Community privileges, 2004 whose one of its major aims is to protect and encourage cultural diversity, valuing creativity, practices and knowledge of local communities. b) Bangladesh (Draft Biodiversity and Community Protection Act of Bangladesh, 1998).whose number one general objectives is to safeguard the sovereign rights of the Communities that have understanding of biodiversity, and have managed, maintained , preserved, reproduced and improved biodiversity c) India (Biological Diversity Act, 2002; Biodiversity Rules, 2004). Authority is given to the implementation sanction grants-in-aid and grants to the State Bio-diversity Board and Biodiversity Management Committees for specific purposes and also undertakes physical inspection of any area in connection with the implementation of the Act. d) Malaysia (Sarawak Biodiversity Center Ordinance, 1997; Sarawak Biodiversity (Access, Collection and Research) Regulations, 1998; Sabah Biodiversity Enactment, 2000). One of its penalty states that any person who, without a permit from the Council, collects or takes away any protected resources from their habitat or place where they are found or grown or take such resources out of the State, shall be guilty of an offence: Penalty, a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both. e) Philippines (Executive Order No. 247, 1995; Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Orders 96-20, 1996; Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act; Republic Act No. 9147, 2001)† [26]. Article 3 of CBD recognizes the sovereign right of nations. In spite of all these efforts, while entering into ABS contracts the current access and benefit mechanism has failed to effectively resolve the major problems faced by the local communities and countries. Reference Correa, C. (2001) â€Å"Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property†, QUNO, Geneva. Source: http://hostings.diplomacy.edu/quaker/new/doc/tkcol3.pdf 09/05/2008 Sui generis system of protection is a distinct system tailored or modified to accommodate the special characteristics of traditional knowledge or folklore.Sui generis systems of protection are already provided in areas such as the protection of plant varieties (UPOV system) and protection of databases (EC Directive 96/9/EC, 11 March 1996. Source: http://www.eurogeographics.org/WorkGroups/WG1/eu_directive.pdf).09/05/2008 Chapter 4 Overview Of The Ipr And Traditional Knowledge Debate In International Negotiations The importance of protecting and preserving indigenous traditional knowledge has been recognized in several international instruments, including the WIPO, CBD and the TRIPS Council of the WTO. 4.2. Convention on Biological Diversity The convention was drafted at the 1992 â€Å"Earth Summit† in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [30] and it came into force in 1993 [31]. The convention emphasized what is depicted in article 8(j) the most important provision of CBD on indigenous knowledge, it reads: â€Å"Each Agreeing Party shall, as far as likelihood and correctness: focus to its national law, protect, value, and maintain understanding , innovations and of local and practices of local and native group. It implies that local communities embodying traditional life styles possess an equal status to indigenous peoples. 4.2. The Conference of the Parties (COP) COP is a decision making body of the convention whose function is to regularly review implementation of the convention [41]. In 6th convention of Parties, the Working group of Entry and profit sharing adopted Bonn Guidelines [20] under decision VI/24. The ABS Decision of the seventh conference mandated the operational group on ABS and Article 8(j) to expound and bargain an intercontinental regime on access to genetic resources and profit sharing with the objective to efficiently implement the provision in Article 15 aimed Article 8(j) [49]. Comments The COP had failed to take any considerable action at the international level. 4.3. The Bonn Guidelines They were officially adopted to provide for a set of rules that will facilitate the drafting and further development of national biodiversity legislation. The Guidelines encourage parties to â€Å"adopt measures to reveal the source country of the genetic resources and traditional understanding, innovations, , benefit sharing, and norms of local and native group in application for intellectual property privileges. †¢ Criticism The guidelines were criticized by several environmental NGO, arguing that voluntary non binding Guidelines can never replace legally binding instruments. The voluntary position of the Guidelines will provide member states with an excuse for non- action. Analysis Despite of criticisms, they are a vital step towards the harmonization of the regime of access and benefit sharing. The CBD help foster bilateral agreements between the providers and users of resources. 4.4. TRIPS, Traditional Knowledge and Genetic Resources The relevant provisions in this regard could be Article 39 (protection of undisclosed information), if the TK is kept as secret knowledge, and Article 22 (protection of geographical indications). The developing countries also argued that the exclusions in Article 27(3) (b) should be clarified. In November 2001, the widely published â€Å"Doha Declaration† was issued at the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference held in Doha, Qatar. The protection of traditional knowledge and folklore was given particular attention. As a contribution to this examination, several developing countries in together with other groups of developing countries, submitted a paper to the Council for TRIPS in June 2002. The paper proposed that WTO Member States to meet the following requirement: (i) Original disclosure of the country and source of the biological resource traditional understanding used in the invention; (ii) Proof of well knowledgeable consent through approval of authorities under Evidence of prior informed consent through approval of authorities under significant national regimes. (iii) Proof of just and equitable profit sharing under the national regime of the original country.† [63]. The United States and Japan have raised the primary objections to the above. These countries have argued that: (i) Such corrections would not be constant with TRIPs Agreement and would be in violation of the rule of non-discrimination amongst field of technology; (ii) Expanding the norms of disclosure would amount to a legal and administrative â€Å"nightmare† and an unnecessary burden on the patent applicant and the Patent office [64]. Analysis Countries avoid the misappropriation of traditional knowledge and with the implementation of the sharing of benefits principle, than with the development of an intellectual property rights regime for traditional knowledge (most notably U.S. and Japan). 4.5. WIPOs Inter-Governmental board on rational possessions and inherent Resource, customary Knowledge and Tradition. The IGC is very much concerned about enhancing the protection of Traditional Knowledge and has therefore focused on understanding the needs and expectations of traditional communities. Also at the IGC third session, World Intellectual Property Organization produced a paper called â€Å"Elements of Sui Generic System for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge†. [45] In Autumn 2005, the WIPOs General Assembly extended the mandate of IGC to continue its work on achieving feasible solutions to the protection of Traditional Knowledge In July 2007 meeting of the WIPOs Intergovernmental Committee (IGC), the developing countries were demanding an international legally binding instrument to protect their resources, while developed countries such as United States, Japan, want a non-binding recommendation. Indigenous peoples organizations expressed frustration, that both genetic resources and traditional knowledge are open to misappropriation. Organization (WIPO) as to whether there should be a binding International treaty to protect genetic resources, [73]. 4.6. Discussion Winding up the discussion, determination of positive synergies between various international regimes in the context of IPR, vis a vis, protection of GRs and related TK is a politically and technically intricate and challenging endeavor. However it has been shown that addressing some of the cases under conversation and the most significant international forums where this discussion takes place, in regard to TK protection and profit sharing, still remains far from achieved [53]. Law and policy needs to check the following: a) Nations of origin assert their rights over their genetics resources, b) Assured benefits of the use these resources are shared equally. c) Native peoples intellectual efforts well protected [53]. 4.7. Summary Compared to the situation that existed a decade ago, currently WIPO, CBD, Council of TRIPs and several other national and regional process are involved in finding decision to establish constructive synergies among IPR and biodiversity related issues, which in itself is an important development [53]. The author is of the view that one of the effective strategies for developing countries, in the wake of heightened debates over TK protection and monopolization attempts of industrialized nations. Nations exercise sovereignty in the safeguarding of hereditary resources and similar traditional understanding with the kind of measures they put in place. The wealth of genetic resources and related traditional knowledge plays an important part in the general well being, food security and health care of the indigenous communities. Reference Pires de Carvalho, N. (2000) â€Å"Requiring Disclosure of the Origin of Genetic Resources and Prior Informed Consent in Patent Applications without Infringing the Trips Agreement: The Problem and the Solution†, Washington University Journal of Law and Policy, vol. 2, pp.371-401 McDonald, S. (2001) â€Å"Exploring the hidden costs of Patents notes of a talk given at Quakers House Geneva 16 May 2001†, QUNO Occasional Paper 4, QUNO, Geneva. The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997, Republican Act No. 8371. Source: http://www.grain.org/docs/philippines-ipra-2008-en.pdf, and The Community Intellectual Rights Protection Act 1994 Senate Bill No. 1841 (still pending). Source: http://www.grain.org/docs/philippines-cirpa-2008-en.pdf Chapter 5 The Philippines Experience Philippines have vast variety of traditional knowledge concentrated in health care, agriculture and forestry just to mention a few. The Philippines was the first country to introduced legislation on access to genetic resources, with the signing of Executive Order 247 (EO 247), â€Å"Prescribing Guidelines and Establishing a Regulatory Framework for the Prospecting of Biological and Genetic Resources, their By-Products and Derivatives, for Scientific and Commercial Purposes, and for Other Purposes†, on May 18, 1995 [6]. Because of the wide scope and the procedure required for the prior informed consent, certain problems were experienced in implementing EO 247.The law stipulates that indigenous societies are owners of their knowledge of traditional medicine and when outsiders use the information they must acknowledge the source and demand a share of any financial return coming from commercial use. The legislation however seeks to maintain the free exchange of biodiversity among local communities. This prevents exploitation of the communitys resources by foreigners with no benefits to the actual owners of the resources. In the context of compliance with the International regimes, TRIPS Agreement, the Philippines has an Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, i.e. Republic Act No. 829300. This code covers economic rights of the country [32].which shows the government commitment towards protecting the rights of indigenous communities to ownership of their resources Analysis Law regulating access to genetic and biological resources (IPRA and EO 247) have both tried to pave the way for mutual research efforts. The use Genetic Resources in safeguarding Traditional Knowledge Vietnam: In spite of the importance hereditary resources and traditional understanding in the lives of Vietnamese people, the results of the survey conducted by WIPO in accordance to test out the legislative steps taken by the Vietnamese government, unfortunately shows that hardly any efforts have been taken by the law makers for the protection of traditional knowledge. However, the Government Decree No. 7-CP of February 1996 elaborates the following measures taken. a) â€Å"Article 4: The overall policy of the Government is to invest for building national capacity in conserving, selecting, producing and carrying on the business of developing seed varieties†. This means greater biodiversity in the country b) Article 8: Genetic resources are to be considered as national property and managed by the State. All organizations and individuals are encouraged to prospect for, collect, preserve, utilize and enrich genetic resources for the benefit of the national economy and social welfare. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) is the main government body responsible for the management of development of seed varieties by the State. This prevents exploitation of national resources for selfish gains. Vietnam and International Regimes Vietnam needs to elaborate a national structure for the safety of heritable resources and customary knowledge. In this regard, MARD is drafting legislation guard of generic resources and similar traditional norms. Protection of Traditional Knowledge in Indonesia The existing Indonesian intellectual property provides little legal protection for traditional knowledge. Some sort of protection is given under the existing â€Å"copyright, distinctive signs and trade secret law† [40]. Some of these laws were further amended In addition, the intention to provide protection to traditional knowledge is also clear from the media report on copyright, Law No 19/2002. And also an informal version of the said law, indicate that â€Å"Article 10 vests in the State the copyright to, inter alia, prehistoric remains, historical and other national cultural objects, stories, legends, folk tales, epics, songs, handicrafts, choreography and dances†[40]. Moreover, the publication by the Indonesian National News Agency shows the government willingness in preventing the outsiders from illegally accessing and patenting other peoples knowledge. [40]. The importance of Intellectual property Rights is visible from submission of the draft of new IPR regulations to the peoples Consultative Assembly. The Indian Experience India formally established under the National Biodiversity Act, Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL). It was considered as a great step forward for preventing misappropriation of traditional knowledge and help in identifying the real traditional knowledge rights holders. The Biodiversity Act 2002 is the first attempt of the Indian legislators attains the aim of CBD. In practice the protection mechanisms are not very effective and are regarded as greatly biased against the safety of the native communities. Guarding of Genetic Resources and Customary Understanding in Pakistan is blessed with enormous amount of natural resources and also is rich in bio wealth. Due to a range of climate zones and various environmental conditions, the country has got a great capability for producing all sorts of food products. A Biodiversity Action Plan for Pakistan (BAP) The increasing environmental problems led to the Biodiversity Action Plan in 1999, which is the most important step taken by the government of Pakistan to prevent biodiversity loss. In collaboration with World Conservation Union, Pakistan (IUCN) and World Wide Fund for Nature, the Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Environment, Local Government and Rural Development, put forward the Biodiversity Action Plan [47]. Draft law on entry to Biological Resources and Community privileges 2004 In order to established fundamental grounds for an ABS mechanism, the Pakistani Ministry of food, Agriculture and livestock is working on draft legislation [49]. This draft is in accordance to the international Convention on Biological Diversity, which will help in providing protection to the rights of indigenous communities of the country. The Way Forward Pakistan has accomplished little so far, due to lack of implementation of the new policies due to lack of funds, skilled personnel and infrastructure. The government should use the sovereign rights stipulated in the CBD to put in place measures to protect biodiversity. In addition, there is a need to address the institutional flaws, which includes the deficiency of monitory and enforcement mechanisms. Claims regarding unfulfilled requirements of patentability. Here we will discuss the well-known cases of Turmeric and Basmati rice, which send a signal to biotech companies or organizations, not to treat the developing countries resources as a free good. 1. The Turmeric Case This has been a milestone success for a developing country like India to protect the traditional knowledge of its indigenous communities and discourages the illegal obtaining of patent over their knowledge. 2. The Basmati Case It was concerned with protection of traditional knowledge and geographical indications. It involved new strains of rice which were to be sold under the name Basmati by a Texas based company, but protests emerged from India and Pakistan over the repercussions the name could have on their communities. The case showed that it is expensive to challenge biopiracy cases. CONCLUSION Effectively protecting the genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and folklore is very important for the developing countries and the most undeveloped countries against the background of the international trade, and concerned with the interests of the developing countries and the most undeveloped countries. If we can find some useful solutions to effectively protect genetic resources, traditional knowledge, and folklore, the position of the developing and most undeveloped countries in the international trade will be strengthened. The issue of protecting of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge is a global issue and still receives attention it deserves. Generally speaking, WTO agreements, including TRIPS Agreement, are a deal between the developed countries and the developing countries, and the whole agreements of WTO are balanced in the interests of the developed countries and the developing countries. On the one hand, the developing countries accepted the standards or criteria for the protection of intellectual property set up by the developed countries. This is good for developed countries, and helped them to strengthen their position in the international trade. On the other hand, the developing countries participated in the new world trade system, and benefited from this trade system. Some of them even since then have enjoyed MFN from some of the developed countries. There have been championing for the formation of new intercontinental lawful protections for these resources, but questions remained unanswered. Who would benefit from the safety measures created for heritable resources, traditional knowledge, or myths? No country, person or worldwide organization has been able to identify the particular beneficiaries of these sought after security measures. None also has determined to what extent of such safeguarding might be what would involve â€Å"fair use† or additional exceptions of restrictions, or even what enforcement mechanisms could be functional. A few countries want to stop others from using their customs while others want to make or commercialize from such use. How could any one structure include these benefits? And to complicate the matter, there is no contract as to what exact damage would be solved by new means of protection. One step taken to react to customary know how holders, said Linda Lourie, makes sure that patents are not approved on recognized process or products, including those that are measured in customary information. A patent is a funding by a national government to an author for the right to exclude others from producing, using, or selling his or her innovation. To qualify for patent safeguarding in many nations, a discovery must needs to be new, useful and not to be minor addition of what is already known. A few customary understanding the rest will seek Patent regarding greater understanding and reap the profit from it. Though considerable work has been done for the protection of such knowledge and resources, a challenging agenda of research and policy still lingers in the minds of many How extensive are genetic resources and indigenous knowledge of countries, and to what uses can they be utilized. The activities in this regard can be observed, not only in the framework of international organizations, but as several developing countries have also made tremendous efforts for introducing effective legislations for promoting and conserving genetic resources and traditional knowledge. The significance of publishing customary knowledge and making that information accessible to patent examiners worldwide cannot be overemphasized, said Lourie. If customary understanding is documented, that understanding may not be topic of patent, even if it is not broadly known in a developed country. The United States is encouraging other nations to create digital databases to record their customary understanding and guard it from patent attempts. Digital databases would permit patent examiners globally to search and scrutinize customary knowledge. In the US, few Native-American tribes are cataloguing their tribal values in a way that that fulfils the need for recording and the need to deny strangers entry to information. Eric Wilson, the Tulalip ethnic in the dialects in the state of Washington in the US, for instant, have determines who is to have way in to what customary information about their familiarity, culture, history, or practices. Some users have unrestricted entry, while the rest, like US. Patent examiners, may have restricted access. Some holders of customary understanding want to be exact that new technologies original from their customary knowledge include a fair distribution of benefits. These communities may want to bargain contractual benefit-sharing agreements about new processes or products produced through study using their customary understanding. Lourie warned, that it could be a blunder to anticipate from such contracts; to present; few economic repayments have accrued from commercialization of customary knowledge. Factors contributing to this include recognizing that TKs significance in the lives of the popular world and in the preservation of biodiversity, concerns about the massive loss of TK, little or no sharing of resulting payback with the original holders of TK, interest in capturing the potential of TK for local sustainable growth, and increasing concern to native rights. Most importantly, how do providing countries tackle the misappropriation of such knowledge and resources? In all these areas, the developing countries can build a credible international negotiating position. Developing Countries in Asia: The Concerns As far as the smooth and successful adoption of international provisions and regimes into domestic laws